


Rabid

by RoyaiFan101



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: F/M, Poor Riza and her unhappy childhood, Royai!AU, in which Riza never enlists in the military, lets play a game called which family tree is more fucked up: the Grumman’s or the Hawkeye’s
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:34:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26314252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoyaiFan101/pseuds/RoyaiFan101
Summary: In which Riza meets members of her family, and she isn’t sure if she gets answers or more questions.Sequel to Feral.
Relationships: Riza Hawkeye/Roy Mustang
Kudos: 23





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This weekend has been very sad for my family. 
> 
> We had to put my mom’s dog, who has been with our family almost fourteen years and got to experience with us: seven births, four weddings, three deaths, me and all of my siblings high school graduations, and an out of state move down on yesterday (9/13/20) afternoon.
> 
> My mom, who was his favorite human in the entire world, who found him in a bush at my elementary school bus stop abandoned at five weeks old & nursed him back to health when he got a bad case of mange not long after, is heart broken. I haven’t seen her this upset since my maternal grandfather died in 2012.
> 
> I’m going to miss you so much Jack

“Kieran! Carson! Will you two _please stop_ drawing on your sisters?” Riza groaned, taking the markers out of her two and a half and one and a half year old sons hands and then in her back pocket, before picking up her almost four old twin daughters, one in each arm, and standing back up.

“Oh Violet, Dinah. Look what your brothers did to you two.” She sighed, counting all the bright orange and dark green slashes and circles on both of her baby girls round cheeks, nose and forehead.

 _Eleven green; seven orange_. She had only turned around for thirty seconds. Riza had to admit it, Kieran and Carson were getting faster.

It was at that moment that Roy came home from work.

“Dah-dee!” Kieran shrieked, he and Carson running on chubby legs to get to Roy by the front door.

“Hey! What did you two do while Daddy was gone?” Roy asked, picking him up and resting one boy on each of his shoulders.

“ _This_.” Riza groaned, showing Roy Violet and Dinah’s faces.

“Ooh.” Roy grimaced. “Well that wasn’t very nice of you, too. Why did you do that to your sisters?” He asked.

“They asked us too!” Kieran declared triumphantly. Carson let out a shriek, nodding his head _yes_.

“I see.” Roy sighed, he and Riza clearly not believing his explanation. But hey, what can you do? _Boys will be boys_.

“How was work? Hear anything about getting shipped off?” Riza asked him. They’d spent almost every day of their almost four year marriage waiting for Roy’s orders to go to Ishval. It was a waiting game that, frankly, they were both _sick and tired_ of playing.

“Nothing. It’s utter bs. Either ship us out or stop the bloody war.” Roy groaned, following Riza into the kitchen so he could help her wash Violet and Dinah’s faces in the sink.

“What does bs mean?” Kieran asked, as Roy put him back down on to the floor.

“Big stomach.” Riza answered him, without missing a beat.

“There is one thing though...” Roy added, knowing she wasn’t going to like it.

“Hmm? What’s that?”

“There’s a formal event that I have to attend up in Central. Something about the fifty year anniversary of the founding of the State Alchemist program, or whatever.” Roy shrugged.

“When is it?” Riza asked, frowning when Dinah tried pushing the wash rag away from her face with a chubby fist. All four of her children looked like their Father and, so far, acted like their Mother.

“Not this Saturday, but next.”

“Great. Well, at least in Central we’ll get free babysitting for these four.” Riza sighed.

She despised formal events.

As a wife to a Major, she was expected to pretty herself up. Make her short pixie cut hairstyle look as feminine as she could make it, put on make up and jewelry, and wear a long dress with heels that she could barely walk in- much less _dance_ in. And as the wife of a _State Alchemist_ , one of the people this bloody event is for in the first damn place, she’s be expected to do all those things tenfold.

“Yeah.” Roy agreed.

* * *

“Mmmm, God that feels nice.” Riza groaned lowly, as Roy slide in and out of her. They were being quiet, they had to be; didn’t want Kieran or Carson to wake up and ask what they were doing. Luckily they didn’t have to be dead silent like they had to be five years ago.

“You feel so good baby.” He moaned, nuzzling the collar of his button down from her neck, nipping at the skin of her throat.

They both tensed up, gasping as their orgasms washed over them. Once it was over, Roy got out of bed, pulled his boxers on, and went to the bathroom to get a wet rag so he could clean his seed off of Riza’s inner thighs.

It wasn’t that they were trying to make baby number five, they just weren’t trying to prevent it from happening. They wanted multiple children, but it was never discussed what the age gaps between their children would be. Which probably explained why there was eleven months between Kieran and Carson and fourteen months between Carson and the twins. It could be a bit hectic, having three different birthday dates in the span of a nine week time period, but they somehow made it work.

Riza hummed in satisfaction when the warm cloth hit her skin, her hands resting on the fabric of his shirt. Ever since Kieran and Carson both became more talkative and mobile, she had begun sleeping in his shirts, not taking it off for any reason- especially during sex.

The only question they wanted to hear less then “ _Mommy? Daddy? What are you two doing?_ ” was “ _Mommy, who drew on your back?_ ” And unless they discovered a way to magically remove it entirely, they knew eventually their children would see it. They just wanted to avoid that question until their kids were older.

Say... when the kids were in their _thirties_?

“I don’t wanna go dress shopping.” Riza groaned, bringing up the gala they had to go to next weekend.

“Well then just wear a dress you already have then.” Roy suggested, tossing the rag into the hamper and climbing under the sheets.

“That’s not an option. Last year at that boring as hell fundraiser, a Lieutenant’s wife wore a dress she had worn before at a different event. Every woman whose husband was a _Captain_ or _higher_ whispered nasty things about her behind her back. I am _not_ dealing with that.” Riza grumbled, rolling over to lay her head on his chest, her left hand resting on his peck.

When he became a State Alchemist, Roy had wanted to get her the biggest, most obnoxiously gorgeous ring that he could afford. A desire that Riza quickly shot down, stating that while she appreciated the gesture, felt that they should spend the money on more important things- like furniture for their apartment.

So, being the wonderful woman that she is, Madam Christmas sent them an alternative from Central. She sent the bridal set that had been in the Mustang family since _1793_ , having been passed down from father to the eldest son- or in their case, from aunt to nephew. The ring was absolutely _stunning_. A four carat princess cut diamond, centered on a white gold band surrounded by one third carat diamonds. The wedding band matched the engagement ring, completely covered in diamonds.

Upon receiving the package and the accompanying letter explaining the family heirloom, Roy had immediately called her up.

_“How come you never told me about this family heirloom before?” Roy had asked._

_“Well I had planned to give it to you when you brought a serious girlfriend home. But the first girl you brought home to meet me is already your wife!” Christmas had scoffed._

_“And I don’t have to pay anything?”_

_“Just to resize it if it doesn’t fit her finger.”_

_“And who is next in the family line to get it?”_

_“Your first born son.”_

_Riza, who had heard Christmas’ answer, asked the question that was in both her and Roy’s minds. “What if we only have girls?”_

_“Hmm... Not sure. Everyone in our family that has had the ring has had at least one boy. Oh well, I’m sure you two will figure something out.”_

Luckily they had two boys, so no need to worry about that. Riza had been wearing the set ever since, which thankfully hadn’t needed to be resized, only taking it off to put on a chain around her neck when her fingers swelled up due to pregnancy.

“Military wives can be so catty.” Roy joked.

“Tell me about it. You and the female soldiers are so lucky. You all have set uniforms to wear at formal events.” Riza sighed.

“I, _personally_ , would rather wear a three piece suit.” He told her, kissing her forehead.

* * *

Packing to take four children under the age of three for a six hour train ride was absolutely no one’s idea of a good time.

“So, how do you want to do this? I deal with Kieran and Carson and you deal with Violet and Dinah, or we deal with one each?” Roy asked her, helping her back bored bags for their sons. The bags contained the usual items; coloring books, crayons ( _not markers!_ ) little toy cars, their favorite stuffed animal, and their baby blankets.

“I honestly don’t know. I feel like no matter what we decided, it’s going to be a mess. I’m not looking forward to this trip at all.” Riza sighed, zipping the small backpacks shut, before moving on to pack her own suitcase.

“Please tell me that your capable of packing your own bag.” She begged him.

“Hey, I’m not completely useless.” He whined. Riza chose to ignore that statement, instead going to the closet to grab her gown for the event they had to attend the next night. A lace cheongsam dress that was the same blue as Roy’s uniform, with gold detailing. It met all of Riza’s requirements for a dress: matched Roy’s uniform and covered up her tattoo.

“Why do I have the feeling that tomorrow night is going to be a disaster?” Riza sighed, closing her suitcase.

“Hey, relax. Let’s just get through the train ride.” He hummed, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her cheek.

* * *

“Aww! They’re all so adorable!” Madeline shrieked, crouching down on her knees to pinch Kieran’s cheek, while Vanessa snatched Carson out of Roy’s arms and into her own. Another of Madam Christmas’ girls, Bianca, took one of the twins out of Riza’s arms and into her own.

“Which one is she? I can never tell them apart in photos, makes me feel so bad.” Bianca pouted, feeling guilty over not being able to tell her nieces apart.

“Dinah. And don’t feel bad, mixing them up is one of the negative parts to having identical twins.” Riza reassured her.

“Hell, we have to _color code_ them or else we mix them up, too.” Roy groaned, motioning to the two different colored outfits he and Riza’s daughters were wearing, pink for Dinah and purple for Violet, with one hand and rubbing the back of his neck with the other.

“So pink is Dinah and purple is Violet?” Vanessa asked, kissing Carson’s cheek.

“Yes.”

“Purple for Violet, I see what y’all did there.” Chris smirked, entering the room. Roy rolled his eyes at his Mother’s statement. That wasn’t why they assigned what color to which daughter. They flipped a coin.

“Nana!” Kieran squealed, completely forgetting about his Aunt Madeline for his Great Aunt slash Grandmother.

“Oh look at you! Almost taller then your dad.” Chris joked, bending down to pick him up, ignoring Roy’s glare as she did so. Being five ten didn’t mean he was _that_ short. Just because his Father and Grandfather had both been over six and a half feet y’all didn’t mean anything. His Mother has been four nine.

Roy’s height was a happy medium.

“How’s it been, dealing with four little ones under such a young age?” Chris asked, as she and her family walked up the steps to the living quarters of her establishment.

“Easier then we thought it would be, that’s for sure. Will definetly be a different story once the girls become mobile.” Riza sighed.

“And if and when I get deployed.” Roy huffed.

“Wait. You mean to tell me you still haven’t gotten your orders yet?” Bianca scoffed.

“No.”

“I said it earlier today and I’ll say it again, I’ve got a bad feeling about tomorrow night. I just now it.” Riza sighed.

She just couldn’t get rid of the bad feeling she had in her gut. Something was wrong. Something was going to happen tomorrow night. Riza didn’t know what it was, nor could shake the feeling.

“Everything will be fine.” Roy cooed, leaning down to kiss her on her cheek.

“Your usual guest room is all set up for you guys, plus some old cradles for the girls. The boys can stay in the room where Greg and Matthew sleep.” Vanessa explained, mentioning the sons that two of the girls, Farah and Willa, had had a few years earlier.

“I thought Greg and Matt slept in a room with Xaiver and Vaughn?” Roy asked about Juniper and Nelly’s sons, putting the luggage down on to the bed.

“You’ve been gone a long time, Roy-Boy. Those boys got better things to do then room with a couple of little kids.” Christmas smirked.

“What are you talking about?” Roy asked.

“Xaiver is fourteen and Vaughn is fifteen. They don’t want to share a room with a six and eight year old.” Madeline told him.

“God I _have_ been gone awhile.” Roy mumbled.

* * *

Riza entered the ballroom at Führer Bradley’s mansion holding on to Roy’s arm.

Scanning the room, she saw a two or three dozen military men mingling with their fellow soldiers. They were all in their formal uniforms, their sabers attached to their waist. They were laughing and having casual conversations with those who were in equal rank to them and kissing ass to those that were higher up. Out of all of those in uniform, only six were women.

On another side of the room she viewed the wives chitchatting and giggling with each other, all playing their roles as brainless eye candies. Some were young and pretty, others older and sophisticated. All of them in dresses that were either military blue, black, or gold and of varying modesty, and made Riza wonder how she would dress if her back was flawless. Most of them had glasses of champagne or white wine in their hands, and those that didn’t had baby bumps ranging in size from barely noticeable to _they might have their baby tonight._

In the background Riza could hear a band playing classical music- violins mostly- and she wasn’t surprised to see less then ten couples dancing to the music. The sound made her want to sit down in a chair and take a nap rather then waltz with Roy.

_All in all, if you go to one military function you’ve been to a hundred of them._

“Gonna go chit chat with the other wives?” Roy whispered in to her ear.

Riza let out snort. “Of course, gotta go chit chat with the other wives. I’ve got a plethora of choices for conversation companions. Should I chose the fellow _first_ wives, all of whom are old enough to be my Grandmother, with children old enough to be my parents? Or the women closer to my age, who are their husbands _third_ or _fourth_ wife, and hand their children off to nannies from sun up to sun down, and can’t tell you what their child’s favorite toy is even if you put a gun to their head?”

Roy frowned. “We could always dance?” He suggested, thinking he was giving her a better option.

He was _wrong_.

Riza scoffed. “I’d rather talk with the bimbos.” She whispered in his ear. “You owe me so much for this. I don’t want to walk straight for a _week_ after this.” She growled lowly.

He couldn’t help but laugh. “I love you so much.” He smiled, kissing her on the lips as they separated to go to their respective groups.

A passing by waiter held a tray of champagne flutes, and Riza quickly grabbed one and suppressed the urge to down it one gulp as she walked towards the group of women. Scanning the wives, she found she recognized no one that she liked talking to at other galas. _Bummer_. She frowned, finishing her drink, eyes wandering around the room for a group of women least likely to make her want to jump through a window and run back to her children and in-laws. Her wandering eyes caused her to nearly crash into another wife.

“Oh! I am so sorry!” Riza gasped, taking a step back from the woman. She looked at her dress; black, a deep v neck and thigh high slit. She got to her hair and saw it was a golden blonde with a few streaks of silver, long and curled and resting on her shoulder. When Riza finally looked the women in the faces, she saw brown eyes and her heart stopped.

_No... It can’t be... No._

It seemed the other woman recognized her, too. Because riza could hear her let out a soft gasp.

“Riza?”

“Mother?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I can’t stand the phrase “boys will be boys” Boys should be held accountable for their actions. 
> 
> But I’ll let it slide when it comes to a two & one year old turning their little sisters’ faces into a coloring book. 🤷🏻
> 
> Riza’s wedding set: https://etsy.me/2W0dwH8  
> Riza’s dress: https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/798333471419439278/


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to say sorry for any confusion my note at the end of last chapter caused. 
> 
> What I do before I write the chapter, is put the notes at the beginning & end, and add to them if need be. 
> 
> Originally I had planned for Roy & Riza to only have had Kieran & Carson, before deciding to add twins Violet & Dinah at the last moment. And I did not realize that I hadn’t changed the end notes until after this story had about 60 hits. 
> 
> Oops.
> 
> For anyone not knowing wtf I’m talking about, I most likely changed it before you had a chance to read this story.

It was awkward for a moment, Pauline and Riza just standing there in front of each other. Neither mother ( _what an extremely loose term to describe Pauline_ ) nor daughter were saying anything to the other.

Then, within seconds, Pauline started talking to her.

“You got married?” Pauline asked, a perfectly plucked eyebrow slightly raised as she tilted her head down in the direction of Riza’s wedding set.

“Mhm. My husband is a Major.” Riza nodded. _No way in hell am I going to tell her that Roy is a State Alchemist. I don’t care if she learns it, but she’s not going to get that information from me._

“What about yours?” She asked, pointing to the ring on her Pauline’s own left ring finger. It was... _gaudy_ , in Riza’s opinion. Three emerald cut stones, the center one slightly bigger then the diamond in Riza’s own engagement ring and the two outer ones slightly smaller. It reminded her of the type of ring Roy would’ve bought her if she had let him and Christmas hadn’t sent them the family heirloom resting on her fingers.

“Mine was just promoted to Brigadier General last month.” Pauline nodded.

And then the older blonde started rambling. Discussing life as a Military wife, bragging about the vacation to Aerugo her and her husband- apparently his name is _Conrad_ \- they had taken the previous month. Riza found herself only half listening to the blubbering sounds coming out of her egg donor’s mouth.

She tried to keep herself from exploding at her mother. Five years ago she would’ve tackled the woman to the ground and ripped out chunks of her hair. Ten years ago she probably would've tried to kill her. But she _couldn’t_. As difficult as it was for her to except at times, she wasn’t a pissed at the world little girl anymore. Riza was a mother herself now. She had to set a good example for her babies.

Plus, she was at a military event. She had to behave herself. She would _not_ be the reason Roy’s career got _ruined_.

Riza honestly didn’t know, nor care, what Pauline was yammering on about when she asked the question she had wanted to know for over fifteen years.

“ _Why did you leave me_?”

Pauline’s golden tan skin nearly turned white as her brown eyes widened in surprise. She let out a shaky breath, glancing down at her feet for just a split second, before looking back up at the daughter she had left behind.

“I was young when I had you, only nineteen. I thought I was ready and I wasn’t, and by the time I realized it, you were a toddler. So I left you with your Father.”

Riza let out a scoff, rolling her eyes. “I’m nineteen _now_ , with _four_ kids- and _all_ of them are under the age of _three_. And I would rather _die_ then even think of abandoning them. Especially if their dad was abusive like mine was. _Come up with a better excuse for why you’re a failure as a mother._ ” Riza snarled lowly, lip curled up in a sneer, as she turned to walk away from Pauline. If she never saw the bitch again, she would be happy.

She had barely turned around before she heard Pauline gasp softly, before speaking “Oh sweetie, if your Father took your _purity_...”

And all Riza saw after that was _red_ , as she spun around on her heel and slapped Pauline across the cheek, with such force that her Mother’s head actually turned to the side. It was done and over with before Riza could even stop herself from doing it.

It was then that she noticed that the room was completely silent now. No music was coming from the band, no idle gossip coming from the other wives, and no ass kissing laughter coming from the soldiers. Not even crickets were brave enough to chirp.

Riza glared at her mother, and hissed under her breath, only loud enough for the two of them to hear, “ _That_ is the _one thing_ that he did _not_ do to me!” before turning and storming out of the French doors to the garden area.

She could hear a woman, another wife, she assumed scoff our “Jesus, Pauline! What did you do to the poor girl?” but she didn’t care enough to turn and see who she was.

She just wanted to go _home_.

* * *

 _Oh shit. What just happened?_ Roy gulped, having just saw Riza slap some older blonde woman across the face. His stomach dropped when he heard another woman call her by Pauline.

_Oh fuck, Riza just ran into her Mother._

“Mustang. Any reason why _your_ wife just hit _my_ wife?” Roy glanced over and saw Brigadier General Conrad Evans standing next to him.

“Probably has something to do with the fact that your wife having the same way as her mother who abandoned her. And Riza isn’t one to slap around women who share her mother’s name.” Roy explained.

“Either way, it’s about time someone slapped Pauline. She’s had it coming to her since 1896.” Another man, Major General Marshall Whitfield, laughed, smacking Roy on his back.

“I should probably go check on Riza.” Roy sighed.

“No need.” Marshall told him. “My wife Sylvia already did after yelling at Pauline.” He added.

* * *

Riza found herself pacing around the garden, trying to calm herself.

_What was I thinking? Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!_

“Not saying she didn’t deserve it, but I’d like to know why you slapped my little sister?” Riza glanced up and saw another blonde woman standing a few feet away from her, a smirk on her face.

She wore a simple pale gold dress, with thick straps and form fitting. A diamond embellishment is on her hip bone. Her hair is done up in a tight updo and Riza can’t help but stare at her.

_Wait? Did she just refer to Pauline as her sister?_

“That wo... She’s your sister?” Riza asked, gasping softly. _I have an aunt? I have an aunt. Oh my God, I’m like Roy; I have an aunt._

“Mhm. What’s she to you?”

Riza let out a scoff. “She’s my _mother_.” She huffed, sitting down on a stone bench, her elbows resting on her knees and her chin resting in her hands.

The small gasp coming from her unnamed aunt tells her that the woman hadn’t been expecting that to be the answer. Riza glances up when she sees her aunt sit down on the bench next to her.

“What’s your name?”

“Riza. What’s yours?”

“Sylvia.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” Riza told her.

“It’s nice to meet you too.” Sylvia smiled. “I’m sorry my sister is your mother.” She added with a frown.

“Don’t be. She isn’t much of a mom anyway. Tonight’s the first time I’ve seen her since I was three years old.”

“Take this from someone who grew up with her. My little sister has always been... _flaky_. She’s currently on husband number three- and those are just the ones I know of. She ran off when she was sixteen and didn’t return home until about five years ago. Now I’m not giving excuses for her behavior, just giving you an explanation.” Sylvia explained to her niece, while Riza did the math in her head.

Pauline was sixteen when she ran away. Nineteen when she had Riza. Twenty-two when she left her and Berthold. Riza had been three years old when she stopped having a mom. Five years ago she was fourteen. So that meant that Sylvia hadn’t seen or heard from her sister in... Seventeen years?

That’s a very long time.

“She tried to justify leaving me. Said having a child at nineteen was too young. And that she didn’t realize that she wasn’t ready until she was twenty-two.” Riza huffed.

“Jeez. I can’t imagine leaving behind my girls.” Sylvia sighed.

“I have cousins?”

Riza was intrigued. Up until twenty minutes ago, the only blood family she knew she had were her parents and her children. Now she had an aunt, possibly an uncle, and cousins. Plural. Her aunt had at least two daughters.

“Mhm. Ashley and Brooklyn. They’re fifteen.” Sylvia smiled, pulling a photo out of her clutch, and handing it to Riza. The small photo contained two teenage girls, slightly younger then Riza, with identical curly hair and facial features, both wearing private school uniforms.

“They’re twins?” She asked.

“Mhm. Identical.”

“So twins _do_ run in the family.” Riza mused. Her and Roy had been wondering since the doctor found two heartbeats during her first appointment of her last pregnancy if twins were something that had ran in her family- because they didn’t in his- or if it was just a freak accident.

Now she knew the answer.

“ _You_ have twins?”

Riza nodded, taking out a small photo from her own clutch, and handing it to her aunt.

“Four little ones.” If Sylvia had any questions about the obviously small age gaps between her great niece and nephews, she kept them to herself.

“Mhm. Kieran, Carson, Violet, and Dinah.” Riza told her, pointing to each of her babies. “And they _all_ look just like their dad.” She let out a huff.

“Sounds about right. Ashley and Brooklyn look just like my husband. They both have my nose and that’s it.”

“Did... did my mother ever tell anyone I existed?” Riza asked softly.

Sylvia sighed. “Sort of. She got drunk one night about a year and a half ago, and told me and my husband that she had given birth. But she didn’t tell us _anything_ beyond that. We didn’t know how old her child was, their name, gender, birth date. We didn’t know who the father was, or if she even knew herself, if she legally gave the child up for adoption, or even if they were still alive last she saw them.” Sylvia explained.

“She really is a crappy mom.” Riza grunted.

“Yeah. Our parents always did wonder what they did wrong with her. What’s your Father’s name, if you don’t mind me asking.”

“Berthold Hawkeye. He died back in autumn of 1905.”

“Berthold Hawkeye is your Father?”

“You knew him?”

“Mhm. He was friends with me and Pauline’s older brother, Dylan, back when we were all still going to school. Big age gap between them and Pauline, nearly a decade. They went their separate ways after school. Berthold went to university and Dylan enlisted in the military. Dylan died in a fight with Drachman soldiers up in Briggs a few years after leaving the Academy. Pauline ran off about a year after that. My parents never really recovered from both loses. Mother died of a broken heart not long after. Surprised it didn’t end up killing my father as well...”

Riza was stunned. How could Pauline have done those things to her own family? It was one thing to abandon her husband and child, but to leave her parents so soon after they lost her brother? How could she?

“What was grandma’s name?”

“Verniece.”

“.... I was partially named after her.”

“Really? How so?”

“My middle name is Verniece. First name is Elizabeth, although I never really understood how either of my parents got Riza from Elizabeth.” When riza turned to look at Sylvia, she was met with wide eyes and an open mouth.

“What’s wrong?”

“She named you after me _and_ our mother. My middle name is Elizabeth. And she still left you. No wonder she’s been divorced so many times now.” Sylvia scoffed.

“God I really you’re her only child. Let’s change the subject. Tell me about your husband? He must be a good looking man considering how adorable your little ones are.”

“His name is Roy, he’s a State Alchemist.”

“How did you end up meeting and marrying a State Alchemist?”

She considers telling her aunt the truth, that her Father was Roy’s Alchemy teacher. But flame Alchemy can be considered very dangerous. They don’t want too many people to know that her Father came up with the concept of flame Alchemy. So she decides to partially fib to Sylvia.

“He was a friend, growing up during my early teenage years- err, _earlier_ teenage years. We dated briefly, nothing serious, for about a month, before he went off to enlist. It didn’t... really end on the best of terms... Honestly, I never thought I would ever even see him again.” Riza trailed off, being truthful.

It was the biggest shock of her life when she found Roy standing on her front porch after knocking on the door.

“Anyway, after he finished at the academy he came by to visit, my father died not long afterwards,” _and by not long I mean the same damn day_ “And not long after that we got married. Kieran was born a little over a year later.” She finished.

“I didn’t exactly have the best childhood. It’s odd really, I never thought I would be this happy.”

And that was the truth. Even before she had started whatever it was with Roy when they were younger, she didn’t think she’d experience true happiness. And then she got pregnant, and for the first time in a long time, she felt it. _Utter joy_. Only for her Father to snatch it away as easy as one snaps their fingers or claps their hands. It would be over two years before she’d be able to feel such happiness again.

But sometimes... sometimes she wonders if it’s better or worst that she doesn’t really talk about the first pregnancy, the baby that never got to be born. Roy doesn’t talk about it either. He doesn’t bring it up unless she does, once stating that he doesn’t want bringing up their should’ve been firstborn to upset her. Perhaps she should talk about them more?

Maybe she should tell Roy exactly how far along she was? How the day before the attack, she could feel tiny flutters, almost like butterflies, in the pit of her stomach. How when her body passed their dead child, they fit in the palm of her hand. How she had to sneak out a damn window in the middle of the night just to bury them.

God she should’ve ran far far away the second she figured out that she was pregnant.

“Riza?”

Her and Slvyia looked up and saw Roy standing a few feet away, his hands shoved into his pants pockets, a worried look on his face.

“Hey.” Riza smiles at him, as he walked towards them and sat next to her, wrapping his arms around her.

“Roy, this is Sylvia. Apparently, she’s my mom’s older sister.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you too.”

“I’m sorry for embarrassing you.” Riza mumbled, leaning her head to rest against his shoulder.

“You didn’t. Honestly, people thought it was hilarious. Apparently not many of the guests here like your egg donor.” He clarified. Riza snorted out a laugh.

“Do you want to go home? I can hear through the grapevine if I miss anything important.”

“Yes please. All I wanna do is go back to your Aunt’s house and hug our babies until we leave tomorrow.” She sniffled, trying not to cry.

She was right, tonight was going to be a disaster.

“Where are you stationed?” Sylvia asked him.

“East City.”

“Hmm, my Father is stationed there, too. Runs it actually. He’ll make sure you are up to date if anything happens.”

“Runs it? Wait. General Grumman is your dad?”

“Yes.”

“Oh crap. I married my boss’s granddaughter. Holy shit.” Roy gasped, eyes wide.

“Does he _like_ you?” Riza asked.

“I think so. I mean, he _acts_ like he does, at least.”

“No harm then. He’ll be happy to know he’s got a third granddaughter _and_ four great grandbabies.” Sylvia grinned.

“It was very nice to meet you, Aunt Sylvia. I would greatly appreciate you _not_ discussing what we talked about with Pauline. She knows that Roy is a major, but not a State Alchemist, nor does she know our children’s names. She also doesn’t know what section we live in. I don’t want her learning these things.” Riza said, standing up and shaking her aunts hand.

“If she learns it, it _won’t_ be from me. Luckily, her husband is stationed in the South. So unless she decides to pay a visit to Dad, I doubt you’ll see much of her outside military functions.”

“Goodbye Aunt Sylvia.”

“Goodbye Riza.”

* * *

They learn the next day, after they’ve returned home, the real purpose of the party.

In one week, Roy and all the rest of the State Alchemist will be shipped off to Ishval, where they will receive their commands related to _Order 3066_.

Whatever _Order 3066_ is, Riza doesn’t know.

“I’m so scared, Reez.” He mumbles into her hair, the night before he’s to leave.

“I am too.” She admits.

“Roy?” She sighs, pulling away from his embrace to look him in the eyes.

“Yes, my love?”

“.... _I’m pregnant again_.” She sniffles, trying so hard not to cry. The chance of Roy _never_ meeting _this_ baby is more real then it ever was with their others.

He swallows sharply. “Are you sure?”

“I took a test yesterday while you were gone. It came out positive. I... I almost considered not telling you, so you would have one less person to worry about. But I would n-never forgive myself, if something h-happened to you.” She sniffled, letting the tears fall.

“Oh sweetie. Please don’t cry.” He begs, wrapping his arms around her.

“I’m so scared, Roy! If something happens to you, this baby will never get to meet you. Ten years from now, none of our kids will ever remember you.” She sobs into his chest.

“Ssh, ssh. It’ll be okay Riza. I promise.” He coos, kissing her temple as he rubbed her back.

“I think that, no matter what happens to me in Ishval, that this should be our _last_ baby. Five kids under three and a half years is a _lot_. And that’s assuming there’s only _one_ in there.” Roy decided.

It’s the first time they’ve ever even discussed stopping. Riza honestly thought she would keep shoving them out until one of them died or she experienced _the change_ during her late forties.

“That sounds like a good idea.” She agreed, tilting her head up to kiss him on the lips.

“Now, we are going to discuss girl names until midnight, because we already have _two_ boy names picked from your last pregnancy, and that’s something I don’t want to discuss over letters.” Roy told her.

_And that’s what they did._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pauline’s Gown: http://www.ambielle.de/354-robe-noir-satin-longue-bretelle-1583.html  
> Pauline’s Ring: http://etsy.me/1NAtgs0
> 
> Sylvia’s Gown: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/448460075370655039/  
> Sylvia’s Ring: https://etsy.me/2nkZGRW


End file.
